1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording control apparatus and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
BS/CS digital broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting broadcast an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) together with TV programs. A user of a recorder which supports such digital broadcasting can easily select a program to be recorded by reserve-recording using the EPG.
Some recorders learn user's preference, i.e., programs a user is inclined to view, based on the user's recording reservation and recorded program viewing logs. These recorders automatically make program recording reservations based on a user preference determination result.
On the other hand, the user sometimes does not want the recorder to execute recording a program if he/she is going to view that same program in real time. This is because the user sometimes finds it cumbersome to operate the recorder and delete the program after recording. Inventions have been proposed, which inhibit program recording when a user is viewing a program reserved for recording (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2005-175519 and 2005-223801).
Of the above inventions, the recorder described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-175519 inquires a user to cancel the recording for both a program the user has actively reserved for recording and a program the recorder has automatically reserved for recording based on the user's preference and the like. Hence, the recorder frequently issues notifications to the user which make him/her feel inconvenient. Additionally, many users do not require a query/notification of recording cancel for a program he/she has actively reserved for recording.
The reorder described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-223801 controls to automatically inhibit recording when a user is going to view a program which the recorder has automatically reserved for recording based on the user preference and the like. On the other hand, the recorder permits recording and viewing simultaneously by setting the user absent state. However, how to handle a program which the user has actively reserved for recording is not taken into consideration.